Stress

By Lisa Pecos

If you’re considering starting a family, chances are that you’ve given some thought to the extra expense that having a child will add to your responsibilities, but exactly how much it costs may surprise you. A report just released last week is giving wannabe parents a bad case of sticker shock, reporting that raising a child can cost you close to a quarter of a million dollars.

Stress is one of those things that just happens – especially when you’re responsible for the lives of others. Stress is inevitably your body’s natural way of reacting to thoughts or activities in your life that can often make you feel overwhelmed. Your body goes into a “flight or fight” mode which releases stress hormones throughout the body to help you react calmly. While stress is normal and good in some cases, when it becomes too much to bear it can cause a plethora of physical and psychological issues.

Stress Can Lead to Self-Medicating

What many don’t understand is that not dealing with chronic levels of stress can quickly lead to the need to self-medicate. While some might start smoking marijuana at the end of a long day to cope, others will drink several glasses of wine. Although in small doses these substances may seem harmless, prolonged use can lead to your body developing a tolerance and then a dependency which can lead to substance abuse and addiction. If you believe you’ve started self-medicating, the best thing you can do for yourself and your children is to reach out to a program that offers substance abuse recovery for women to get the specialized care you need.

As a parent of an adolescent daughter, it’s easy to brush off acne and irregular periods as normal parts of puberty. While missed or heavy periods and acne are certainly common at this stage of a girl’s life, they can also be signs of a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).

Taking Mini-Breaks from Daily Parenting Duties Is Good for You, Will Recharge You

We know that you are a loving, dedicated mom (or dad!), and there aren’t enough hours in the day to do all the things you want to do for your family. But it is important to remember that taking a break from the daily routine is essential for recharging your ‘go’ and making you feel happier and more positive. After all, feeling more content will help you continue to be a good parent!

In a perfect world, all women who become pregnant would have a relatively peaceful nine months, with plenty of leisure time to rest and to plan for the joyous arrival of their babies. But in the real world, adversity happens often. Sometimes, a woman is subjected to high stress levels during her pregnancy, whether the stress is related to money worries, family, a tragedy, or even problems with her partner.

Life does sometimes throw us curves that we did not anticipate. But if you are pregnant, you have an even greater reason to do everything in your power to take control of the stress in your life.

Today’s parenting culture is one of ambition and high expectation. In an age of increasing competition in all areas of the socioeconomic spectrum, we all want our kids not just to do well but to excel. In light of this, many parents forget to leave their children time for the simple things—playing outdoors, engaging in imaginative activities and such. We tend to think time that is not spent engaged in a productive activity is time wasted.

Having high expectations for one’s children is perfectly natural, and there are More »

Be aware that even though you feel you are doing your very best raising your child, sometimes your parenting strategies can be damaging to your child’s self-esteem and the parent-child relationship. Your child needs to grow up with a healthy level of self-esteem to be more resilient to the lessons learnt and the knocks taken in life. A good self-esteem enables your child in decision making, having confidence in the judgements she makes, knowing what is right and wrong and having an ability to ‘bounce back’ after a knock. Healthy self-esteem is especially important during your child’s adolescent years when the chances are she will experience peer pressure to experiment with cigarettes, drugs and alcohol.

We like to think that a child’s world is all lightness and fun, but there are dark sides to the childhood experience. Especially in this age of increased expectations, rigorous study, and intense competition for educational opportunities, kids are increasingly dealing with stress in addition to all the traditional sources of bad feelings in children. Stress is no longer just a grownup problem. Kids face many of the same pressure that adults do, and they also have pressures of their own. If you think your child might be suffering from too much stress, here is what you need to know.

A study just released by the Medical Research Council in the U.K. reveals that postnatal depression (also known as postpartum depression), which has been well documented among women, also affects a substantial percentage of new fathers. Looking at a group of 86,957 families, the study found that 39% of mothers experience at last one episode of depression within the first 12 years of being a parent, while 21% of men experience an episode. These findings raise new questions about the emotional effects of parenting and highlight the importance of mental health treatment for young parents of both sexes.

Parenting is tough in the best of times but today the signs of economic crisis are everywhere. A crashing stock market, failing companies, huge layoffs and lost homes. How can families cope? Survive? Some parenting tips for tough financial times.